from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

n. an alloy of tin with some copper and antimony; a lining for bearings that reduces friction

Etymologies

After George F. Babbitt, the main character in the novel Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis.

(American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Named after the title character in Sinclair Lewis' 1922 novel, Babbit. Also popularised by the George and Ira Gershwin song "The Babbitt and the Bromide," featured first in the 1927 musical "Funny Face" and later in the film Ziegfeld Follies (1945). (Wiktionary)

Examples

SECRETARY BABBITT: He said, Secretary Babbitt, with all due respect, don't you think that the issues being discussed today are way below the level of presidential involvement and even dubious for a Secretary of the Interior to be involved in.

Now, I'm a big Ira Gershwin fan, but I admit that it took me a while, and for the reason that I think Babbitt is hinting at here: Ira Gershwin's lyrics deliberately and consistently call attention to themselves.

Stephen: You are implying that Babbitt was saying that all composition should be for a specialized audience, when the article explicitly says the opposite — Babbitt is arguing that highly esoteric serialism, etc., should have a forum even though it's small, not that it should replace all other musical vocabularies.

If Rush read Kirk or Burnham or Nisbet he would think they were "liberals" or "left wingers" because of their concern with local community, with restricting presidential power, with their opposition to what they called "democratic imperialism", a phrase Babbitt coined in opposition to Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy.

Let's pretend we're bunny rabbits Let's do it all day long Let abbots, Babbitts and Cabots Say Mother Nature's wrongAnd when we've had a couple'o'beers We'll put on bunny suits I long to nibble your ears And do as bunnies do